Page vii of Four hitherto unpublished gospels : a series of character studies cast in the form of personal memoirs of John the Baptist, Andrew the brother of Simon Peter, Judas Iscariot, James the brother of Jesus / by William E. Barton.

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PREFACE
T HE impulse to write narrative accounts of
the life and ministry of Jesus came rather
late into the history of New Testament com-
position. The first books written were letters,
called out by particular emergencies, and were
preserved by reason of the practical wisdom of
the advice given by the apostolic authors. Some
of the later letters assumed a more formal
character, and one or two of them, like Romans
and Hebrews, evolved into doctrinal treatises
in epistolary form. After a time there were
compiled little collections of detached "say-
ings" of Jesus, which later were followed by
attempts to tell the story of his life. By the
time the Gospel according to Luke was written,
many had "taken in hand" to give account of
the life of Jesus. Of these early narratives,
four have been preserved. We have good rea-
son to believe that these are much the best
of the attempts to tell the story of Jesus. Such
apocryphal gospels as have come down to us
either entire or in fragments give us little oc-
casion to regret the loss of the others.
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